Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Google Assistant (self.Blind)
submitted by PBaz1337
Here's a doozy for you guys. Advice is welcome because I'm about to throw my wife's phone off the balcony.
My wife is visually impaired. We have identical phones (Google Pixel 4a). For some reason, her Google Assistant no longer responds to her when she attempts to send a text via voice command, which is the only way she can text. Assistant used to read her text back to her so she could confirm what it said before sending. Now, my phone will do it but hers won't.
We're both running the same version of Android, the same version of Assistant, and aside from her icon and widgets being larger everything else on our phones is the same. I've uninstalled and reinstalled Assistant, restarted her phone more times than I can count, and been through every parameter of her settings. I've been bashing my head into her phone trying to get her to be able to send a text. It's particularly frustrating because it's both her personal and business phone, and the fucking thing worked three days ago. We are most definitely moving to iPhones when we're due for an upgrade.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Do you have any suggestions for a TTS engine that's more reliable than Assistant, or how I can fix hers? Koodo's support's answer is to buy a new phone, and Google's support is damn near nonexistent. She truly feels like customer support doesn't give a fuck about people with disabilities, and from the service we've received, there's no reason to not believe her.
Sorry for the rant, but if you made it this far we'd really appreciate any advice you might have to offer.
My wife is visually impaired. We have identical phones (Google Pixel 4a). For some reason, her Google Assistant no longer responds to her when she attempts to send a text via voice command, which is the only way she can text. Assistant used to read her text back to her so she could confirm what it said before sending. Now, my phone will do it but hers won't.
We're both running the same version of Android, the same version of Assistant, and aside from her icon and widgets being larger everything else on our phones is the same. I've uninstalled and reinstalled Assistant, restarted her phone more times than I can count, and been through every parameter of her settings. I've been bashing my head into her phone trying to get her to be able to send a text. It's particularly frustrating because it's both her personal and business phone, and the fucking thing worked three days ago. We are most definitely moving to iPhones when we're due for an upgrade.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Do you have any suggestions for a TTS engine that's more reliable than Assistant, or how I can fix hers? Koodo's support's answer is to buy a new phone, and Google's support is damn near nonexistent. She truly feels like customer support doesn't give a fuck about people with disabilities, and from the service we've received, there's no reason to not believe her.
Sorry for the rant, but if you made it this far we'd really appreciate any advice you might have to offer.
CloudyBeep 7 points 1y ago
Is there any reason she doesn't learn to use a screen reader like TalkBack? With that, she'd be able to use all of the features of the phone, including third-party apps.
PBaz1337 [OP] 3 points 1y ago
We've tried that and it she found it to be a huge pain in the ass. But then again so is learning a completely new OS.
CloudyBeep 3 points 1y ago
Most blind people prefer iOS and its screen reader to Android and its one.
PBaz1337 [OP] 1 points 1y ago
I actually started a new job this month where I get a company iPhone. I think I'll have her send myself texts with it to familiarize herself with Siri vs. Google and see if she likes that better.
CloudyBeep 2 points 1y ago
Again, I strongly suggest that she learn to use VoiceOver.
MostlyBlindGamer 2 points 1y ago
You might have some different settings buried deep in your Google accounts.
I'd also recommend learning TalkBack. It's pretty easy to use and decently competent.
I'd also recommend learning TalkBack. It's pretty easy to use and decently competent.
PBaz1337 [OP] 3 points 1y ago
That's what I'm assuming is the case, I just can't find the setting that's different in my phone vs. hers.
vip-sizzles 2 points 1y ago
Have you tried clearing cache & app data?
PBaz1337 [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Yup, didn't do anything.
vip-sizzles 2 points 1y ago
After clearing cached & storage data, have you tried uninstalling all updates & then running the app without any updates (factory defaults)? Maybe try clearing cache a second time after opening the app with factory default. The only thing I can think of is there some corrupt data that needs to be flushed out.
PBaz1337 [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Digging a bit deeper, I found that 3 different versions of Assistant were running simultaneously. I disabled them all, cleared all caches and uninstalled updates. She can send a text now, but it's still not working the same way my phone is. I'll keep plugging away at it and see what I can figure out.
vip-sizzles 1 points 1y ago
At least you got the text working again. It's likely there still some conflict if you had multiple versions running. You should be able to update. Maybe you can try clearing cache & storage data from the Google app one more time. Also, the Android sub may have some ideas.
PBaz1337 [OP] 2 points 1y ago
I'll give er a shot and report back!
BaylisAscaris 1 points 1y ago
I have been having a lot of problems with Google Assistant lately as well. I think some updates changed some settings and it's a bit shit now. It even seems less responsive to answering questions too. We have it integrated with Google Home and commands it used to respond to promptly it now ignores randomly.
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